Dangerous Nonsense

Matthew 16:21-25 (vv. 21-28)

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to tell him off. “That’s the last thing God would want, Master!” he said, “That’s never, ever going to happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone (Vol. 2)

Yes, we’ll be going to Jerusalem. Yes, the kingdom of God is coming, coming soon now. Yes, the son of man will be exalted as king, dispensing justice to the world. But the way to this kingdom is by the exact opposite road to the one the disciples—and especially Peter—have in mind. It will involve suffering and death. Jesus will indeed confront the rulers and authorities, the chief priests and legal experts, in Jerusalem; but they, not he, will appear to win the battle. He will then be raised from the dead, so Jesus says; but neither Peter not the others can figure out for the moment what he might mean by this.

All they know is that he is talking nonsense, dangerous nonsense.

Like Paul in his letters, Jesus insists that God thinks differently from how we mortals think. God sees everything inside out; or, perhaps we should say, God sees everything the right way around, whereas we see everything inside out.
Following him will cost everything and give everything. There are no half measures on this journey. It’s going to be like learning to swim: if you keep your foot on the bottom of the pool you’ll never work out how to do it. You have to lose your life to find it (10-1).

A. Orendorff

“Dangerous nonsense.” “God sees everything inside out.” “You have to lose your life to find it.”

What would it look like if we took the gospel seriously? How would our lives change if we really acted like what Jesus said were true? The way up is the way down. The way of leadership is the way of service. The way of glory is the way of shame. The way of power is the way of weakness. The way of triumph is the way of suffering. The way of resurrection is the way of the cross.